Roman Shipwreck Discovered Off Sicilian Coast

News August 11, 2026

Photogrammetric plan of a Roman shipwreck laden with amphoras off the coast of Mazara del Vallo, Sicily
Superintendency of the Sea
SHARE:

MAZARA DEL VALLO, SICILY—According to a report in The Guardian, remnants of a Roman vessel that had been carrying some 500 amphoras when it sank 2,100 years ago were found by fishers about three miles off the coast of Sicily. An investigation conducted by Italy’s Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage revealed that the vessel, which rests under 150 feet of water, measured almost 70 feet long and 20 feet wide. The type of amphoras found in the cargo were usually used to transport wine. Researchers from Sicily’s Superintendency of the Sea will document the site, date the wreck, and study its cargo. To read about another discovery from Sicily, go to "A Sicilian Gift Horse."

  • Features July/August 2026

    Secrets of the Serpent

    Is a Native American origin story embedded in Ohio’s colossal earthwork?

    Read Article
    Serpent Mound
    Timothy E. Black
  • Features July/August 2026

    Slinging Insults

    Greek and Roman soldiers fired pointed barbs at their enemies

    Read Article
    Lead sling bullet inscribed with the Greek inscription MATHOU
    Courtesy Michael Eisenberg
  • Features July/August 2026

    Inside Africa’s Houses of Stone

    Archaeologists are rethinking how kings shared power beyond the great capitals of medieval Zimbabwe

    Read Article
    Ad/AdobeStock
  • Features July/August 2026

    Tennis, Anyone?

    Discovering the origins of the peculiar racket game that swept sixteenth-century France

    Read Article
    King Louis XIII's jeu de paume court at the Palace of Versailles
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap